With all the wonderful amenities on site, the station was designed not to feel confining. However, the people inside it turned this place into a prison for my family and me, following the orders of one man. Ricread was the one responsible for our running into the unknown.
My heart tightened with worry over the uncertainty of our future, but I did not doubt our decision to leave. Even the life of fugitives that lay ahead of us out there was more acceptable than what awaited us within these walls.
As long as Ricread remained in charge, we could not stay.
Chapter 27
“COULD YOU WATCH HER for me for a second, please?” I asked Zavis, placing Elizabeth on the bed after having just fed her.
Sliding my hand under the blanket, I wrapped my fingers around the smooth handle of the stun gun I had hidden there, willing my heart not to race wildly.
“Sure.” Zavis plopped on the bed next to the baby. “Aww,” she cooed, stroking Elizabeth’s leg. “That’s one tired little girl right there. She just can’t keep those big, pretty eyes open.”
Quickly stuffing the gun in the wide sleeve of my dress, I headed around the bed, as if on my way to the bathroom. Despite my best efforts to calm down, my heart raced even faster, blood swishing loudly in my ears. I forced myself to slow down, keeping my pace as casual as possible.
“Oops.” Passing by one of the guards, I pretended to trip and quickly bent over, as if to check my sandal, then pressed the metal ball of the gun to the guard’s shin and squeezed the handle—hard—praying that it would work.
With a strangled “Humph,” the Kealan collapsed to the ground at once, as if I’d cut his hamstrings.
“What happened?” I exclaimed, in fake surprise, jumping aside and in the direction of the second guard.
He leaped to his buddy’s aid, a bewildered expression on his face. And I quickly pressed the ball to his arm, sending him falling heavily on top of the first guard.
Not wasting a second, I spun around to face Zavis, who stood by the bed, her pink-rimmed eyes wide open. To my relief, the shock must have stopped her from raising the alarm—her arms were hanging limply, the screen of her device off.
“You don’t have to do this . . .” She took a step to me, lifting both hands up, palms facing me, in a disarming gesture.
“Oh, you know I do.” I shook my head, advancing on her. “There is no other choice.”
“Isabella, wait . . .”
But I had already lunged forward, pressing the ball of the stun gun to her palm before she had a chance to jerk it back.
Her body shook in a violent shudder, fingers flexed around the ball, ripping the gun out of my hand on her way to the floor.
“I’m so, so sorry, Zavis,” I whimpered, covering my mouth with my hand, as mix of intense guilt and compassion rocked through me at the sight of her slim body curled on the floor.
Elizabeth squirmed in her sleep, snapping my attention back to her. A glance at my arm device let me know I had barely a few minutes left before I had to meet Tairan.
Carefully stepping around the guards piled on the floor, I took my cloak out of the closet along with the boots I used to wear whenever I was allowed to walk outside, and a long, wide strip of material I had made out of one of my dresses.
Then I pried the stun gun out of Zavis’s fingers and quickly put it in the pocket of my dress.
Returning to the bed, I gently wrapped Elizabeth in her blanket and some of my warmer clothing, then used the strip of material to tie her snugly to my front.
“Sorry, baby,” I whispered, patting the small bundle attached to my chest. “I don't know what kind of life I’m about to take you to, but I promise to do my best for as long as I live to make sure you’re safe and happy.”
I wrapped the cloak around both of us and rushed out of the room.
THE MOMENT I ENTERED the glass room on the way out of the facility, a man in a cloak separated from the shadows by the entrance and pulled me into the corner with him.
“Tairan?”
“Did all go well?” he asked.
I nodded, breathless with worry, stress, and anticipation.
“Give me your arm,” he whispered, lifting his hand with a slim object that spewed a thin, white flame.
Without asking questions, I freed my arm from the cloak and stretched it his way. Quickly, he brushed the flame along my arm device, separating it in two halves. I noted that his forearm was bare—his own device had been removed already.
“One more thing.” He tossed my disabled device into the corner then took my face between his hands. “Sorry, my ila flower,” he whispered gently, brushing my lips with his. “This will hurt a little.” Turning my head to the side, he yanked the translator out of my ear, sending a sharp lightning of agony through my head and spine and wrenching a cry of pain from my chest.
Feeling the warm trickle of blood down the side of my neck, I bit my lip to stop a groan but only managed to muffle it.
“Shhh. It’s done.” He cradled me to his chest for a moment of comfort then nudged me to the door. “We have to hurry. They’ll be looking for us soon enough.”
He slid a pair of goggles over my eyes. “These will help you see better in the dark and wind.” Then he took me to the door.
As soon as we stepped outside of the heated area around the perimeter of the facility, the biting cold of the Arctic winter rushed us.
The cloak whipped around me in the wind, but the Kealan-made material clung close enough to my body, keeping me and the baby warm. Drawn low, the hood kept my head and face relatively warm, too, though gusts of wind found their way under the hood now and then, frost nibbling on the exposed skin of my chin and cheeks.
Head down, I huddled into the cloak, nearly blinded by the wind and the darkness.
“I’ve walked this route already,” Tairan yelled through the wind to me. “Twice.” He took my elbow, tugging me along. “Just follow me.”
Stumbling through the snowdrifts, I felt utterly disoriented by the swirls of white in the night surrounding us, glad I wasn’t the one in charge of navigation.
After trudging behind Tairan—his wide back shielding me from the winds somewhat—the sense of my surroundings finally came to me. I glanced back over my shoulder to see the gigantic structure of the facility we were leaving behind.
The enormous building was sparingly lit along the walking path circling it. Numerous tall domes rose into the dark skies, the biggest one being that of the aircraft landing hangar, I assumed.
A small pang of sadness tugged at my heart again. Amazingly, watching the station from the distance felt like leaving a home. No matter how dangerous the occupants of that facility turned out to be, the building itself somehow managed to find a place in my heart.
“Not long now!” Tairan shouted over the wind. “Look!” I followed his gesture with my gaze, peering into the darkness in search of what he was pointing at.
Far on the horizon, I finally managed to spot a few flickering lights. Tony had kept his promise. If I squinted hard enough, I could almost make out the silhouette of the newest model of Arctic exploration aircraft, with its short wings and four horizontal propellers on top, designed to help it land in the harshest conditions.
With another glance back over my shoulder, I spotted some movement at the facility. It appeared as if one of its lights had separated from the building and now was moving our way.
“Tairan.” Not trusting he’d hear me over the howling wind, I touched his arm then pointed at the approaching light.
He stopped in his tracks so suddenly it nearly knocked me off balance.
“Keep going.” Gently but insistently, he nudged me towards Tony and the airplane. “Tell them to take off as soon as you get there.”
“Not without you!” I shouted in Kealan through the wind, shaking my head.
“I’ll catch up.” His voice was firm. “Or I’ll find my way out later. Do not wait for me.”
“No.” I kept shaking my head, even
as he kept pushing me on my way urgently.
“Isabella!” Grabbing me by the shoulders, he gave me a small but firm shake. “You have to keep Elizabeth safe.”
I still shook my head in denial, but no longer said anything, taking a few steps towards the aircraft when he let go of me.
“Go,” he urged. “I’ll hold them.” The white laser flickered in his hand, signalling to me Tairan was ready to fight. The thought brought tears to my eyes. “Go, please,” he begged.
For a few steps, I walked backwards, unable to tear my gaze away from his lone figure standing in the snow and wind—between the approaching danger and me.
Keep Elizabeth safe.
I wrapped my arms around the precious bundle at my chest and headed into the wind.
Chapter 28
TAIRAN
Making sure Isabella was on her way, he turned his full attention to the approaching vehicle.
This was an individual hovering travel device, designed to carry out minor maintenance tasks on the outside of the facility. While it was meant for one person, it could carry two in an emergency. Tairan felt confident that he could slow them down long enough for Isabella to reach safety.
As the vehicle approached, however, he spotted more light dots moving his way from the station. The alarm must have been raised, mobilizing the security team on the hunt for Isabella and him. For Elizabeth.
Desperate to put as much distance as possible between his women and the forces hunting them, Tairan ran towards the vehicles as fast as the uneven ground and wind would allow.
The first reached him soon enough, not slowing down as it approached. The person behind the wheel was obviously aiming to ram it into Tairan.
Jumping aside to avoid the collision in the last moment, Tairan lost his balance and rolled through the snow.
“Saryal!” The familiar hated voice ripped through the freezing air.
Ricread.
Tairan leaped to his feet, getting ready as the vehicle spun around in the air and headed his way again, accelerating.
This time, Tairan sprung high as it approached, aiming for the man steering it. Slowed by the cloak, his arms didn’t reach far enough—Ricread’s neck slipped from his grip. But the impact of his body against the side of the hover-vehicle jolted it hard enough to tip it to the side, tossing its driver out into the snow.
Tairan landed on his back, a hard ridge of ice and packed snow slammed between his shoulder blades, knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving him winded for a moment.
When he rose to his feet again, he came face to face with Ricread, who pointed a gun straight at him. This was not a stun gun, either. Almost as long as his arm, this was a combat weapon, meant to kill.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Tairan glared at his enemy. “You need your main research resource.”
“Not for long.” Caught by the wind, Ricread’s words reached him, even though the man didn’t shout. “How hard do you think it would be to convince everyone that my agreement with a dead man is null and void?”
“You cannot touch Erix,” Tairan gritted through his teeth, his jaw locked so tight it hurt, but he barely noticed the pain.
“He is mine!” Ricread yelled, losing his composure. “Your son, your wife, and your daughter—they are all mine! I’ll do what I see fit with each and every one of them. And that’ll be the last thing you hear before you die—”
With a growl Tairan launched forward. Rage and terror mixed into an explosive burst of speed, propelling his attack against the gun pointed at him. Ricread fired. A flash of fiery agony hit Tairan’s side, but it failed to stop him.
With the power of a man possessed, he tackled Ricread to the ground, knocking the gun out of his hand. The weapon bounced off an icy ridge, rolling away.
Reaching up, Ricread ripped the goggles off his face, the light of the tipped hover-vehicle blinded Tairan for a moment, long enough to allow his enemy to free himself from his grip.
“You’re not getting away this time,” Tairan hissed, fully surrendering to the rage that detonated inside him.
Tugging hard at the end of Ricread’s cloak, he dropped him back to the ground. Rolling through the snow, tangled together, he searched for the other man’s throat. His hand landed on something freezing cold and hard, instead.
The gun.
Getting a hold of the weapon, Tairan heaved himself over his enemy.
Ripping off his hood, Tairan grabbed a handful of the professor’s braids, yanking them up. The wide bald patch above Ricread’s ear came into view. The latest technology had healed the skin smoothly, though no hair grew on this part of the scull. Tairan remembered well the gruesome, bloody wound he had inflicted there, years ago.
“I should have killed you then.” He shook his head with a bitter sense of regret. “I should have ended you much earlier. So much pain would have been spared to so many.”
But Ricread had always hid behind a security team, even back then. Tairan had been overpowered in his office when he had come to negotiate Erix’s freedom, beaten within an inch of his life, and put in a coma during his first weeks as the subject of The Science Group.
“So much progress would have never happened,” Ricread bit out. His goggles had slid off during the struggle. A flash of fear crossed his features at the sight of the gun pointed straight into his face.
“You will leave my family alone,” Tairan demanded, with a firm tug on Ricread’s braids to ensure his full attention. “Once and for all. Do you hear me?”
From the corner of his eye, Tairan noted the security vehicles already surrounding them in a circle. Ricread must have seen them too, as the fear melted away from his expression, the usual cold arrogance settled firmly back over his face.
“I am no longer making deals, Saryal,” he scoffed, haughtily.
“Neither am I.”
Tairan pressed the trigger.
Chapter 29
I’D ONLY MADE IT A hundred metres or so away from Tairan before my legs refused to obey my brain, and I stopped, frozen in place. Unable to take another step away from him, I watched the vehicles move in from the facility, circling my husband who rolled on top of Ricread and leaned back, pointing the gun at his head.
I saw the bright flash of the gunshot, though the sound never came, lost in the wind and cold.
Pressing my hands to my sides, I felt the hard cylinder of the stun gun in my pocket and yanked it out.
The cloaked figures of the security personnel jumped off their vehicles. The guards pointed their weapons at Tairan as he rose to his feet, and suddenly, I was able to bring my body into motion once again, running through the night to him instead of to the aircraft that waited to take me to safety.
Pressing one arm to his side, Tairan lifted the other up, slowly pointing the gun along the line from one guard to another.
The last flying vehicle arrived from the facility, and a tall, cloaked figure stepped into the circle, prompting Tairan to jerk his gun to the newcomer. The man raised his arm, and the guards lowered their weapons, as if by magic.
“Let us go,” Tairan demanded, loud enough for me to hear as I approached.
The wind must have quieted somewhat because I recognized Valran’s voice as he replied.
“I prefer not to do that, Commander. I am willing to re-negotiate the terms of your staying at the station.”
“I am past the point of negotiating with anyone representing The Science Group.”
“Would you hear what I have to say if I told you I speak on behalf of all of Keala in this negotiation?”
“I want to hear it!” I yelled in Kealan, panting from my run as I entered the circle. “Make it quick and keep your distance.”
“Isabella!” Tairan swayed my way.
Only now did I spot that his side was soaked with pale blood. Deceptively innocent in its strawberry-cream colour, it trickled down his cloak and dripped onto the snow.
Rushing to him, I yelled over my shoulder at Valran, “You get him medica
l attention, right now! And this is not part of the negotiations.”
One arm supporting Elizabeth under my cloak, I hugged Tairan with the one gripping the stun gun, helping him stay upright.
“You didn’t leave.” He pressed his forehead to mine.
I never took the wedding band off my finger, but it wasn’t the ring that tied us together. We never got to say our vows, but in my heart and in my mind Tairan was my true husband—my friend, my lover, my protector, and the father of my child.
“We are a family, honey. And families stick together.” I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Besides, you just took care of the biggest monster here.”
“That alone will have consequences,” he warned grimly.
Valran came closer. “We will need to take him back in, Isabella, to stop the bleeding. I know you’re not wearing your translator. How well can you understand me?”
“Perfectly well,” I replied sharply in Kealan. “You will need to give me some very firm promises here—before I let you take him inside that place again—and give them quickly.”
“I will not withhold medical attention or use it as leverage in negotiation.” Valran’s voice was firm. “We will help the commander regardless of whether or not you decide to stay.”
“Get it in writing,” Tairan said with a thin, crooked grin.
“What he said.” I tipped my head his way.
Valran nodded and opened the screen of his device. Instead of typing in, he spoke into it, the words appearing then in black on the white screen. Adding the swirl of his signature, he turned the screen our way.
“Can you read Kealan, too?” he asked with a note of genuine curiosity.
“Yes, I can.” I read the written promise he had just made, making sure it matched what he had said. “I learned your language. Knowledge is power, isn’t it?”
Valran paused for a moment as if absorbing my words then turned to one of the guards, “Take Commander Saryal in, quickly. Bring him—”
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